Two dead in Yarraville house fire

An elderly couple found dead in a house fire in Yarraville were severely injured before their home was set alight in a suspicious fire, police have said.

Homicide Squad Detective Inspector John Potter said police would not know the exact cause of death until Sunday after a post mortem. He confirmed the couple were aged in their late 70s or early 80s but had not formally identified the couple.

Detective Inspector Potter said forensic, arson and investigation squads were investigating the deaths after a neighbour called triple zero to report the fire just before 3am.

''We believe that it is suspicious circumstances,'' Detective Inspector Potter said. ''We believe that it was deliberately lit and we have now got to establish the cause and the circumstances surrounding this gruesome incident."

He could not confirm the type of injuries but said police did not believe a bullet shell found nearby was related to the crime. He said no weapons had been found yet at the home.

Detective Inspector Potter said police were unsure whether it may have been a murder suicide but said: ''We are treating it as suspicious and we believe both people have been killed by persons or persons unknown.''

He said the fire had caused extensive damage to the house and an arson chemist was working to find the seat of the fire.

The family, he said, were distraught and assisting police with their investigation. Detective Inspector Potter said it was unclear whether anything was stolen.

Detective Inspector Potter appealed for witnesses that might have been in or near Morven Street overnight on Friday to call Crime Stoppers.

While police are still identifying the bodies, neighbour Trina Paskins said the elderly Greek couple who own the property were the "patriarch and matriarch" of Morven Street. She did not want to name the couple.

"There have been a lot of fresh faces in the street, but they - if it is them - were always friendly to everyone," Ms Paskins said.

"They are always waving and very loving. He doted on her," she said.

She said the woman had a walking frame and was frail but regularly invited Ms Paskins and her five-year-old daughter into her home.

"My daughter has been saying she wants to go visit 'Yoyo' which is what she calls her. She (the woman) is always giving her a hug and kiss," Ms Paskins said.

"She was very frail. In a fire there is no way she could get out," she said.

Neighbour Daniel Tan said the husband and wife were "nice people".

"I know they are sick. The lady walked the same time every day with the help of a stick because she had a problem ... (she found it) hard to breathe.

"And her husband was also feeling sick because usually he went fishing. When he came back I asked him, 'Did you catch any fish?' But this day he didn't go anywhere because he said, 'I have a breathing problem'.

"I am very shocked because who would want to to kill someone that old, and they are feeling sick as well. That means they are vulnerable to anything.